Morley library holds game day for international event

CANTON  While libraries around the globe brought patrons in Saturday for hours of gaming, Morley Public Library, 7230 County Route 27, was one of the few libraries in St. Lawrence County that were able to participate in this years International Games Day.

Children, college students and adults played games in the library from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

It is really about coming and doing something together with people and being more of a community center, librarian Agnes A. Hoey said.

Ms. Hoey, Canton, said it was the second year the library has participated in the international event.

She said she had to sign up online for Morley to become an officially participating library.

People can bring their own cards or games, she said. Last year I asked the Morley Library Association to donate games.

The games were not limited to classic board games, such as chess, checkers and Candy Land. Children were building with Legos, and Ms. Hoey said some children even went outside to kick a soccer ball around since it was such a nice day.

One of the more popular games of the day was a Yu-Gi-Oh card game, which Ms. Hoey said the library had volunteers teaching.

Iggy Gillette-Ferguson, Potsdam, is a certified Yu-Gi-Oh judge for Konami, the company that holds the patent and copyright of the game.

Once the library is signed up for this, Konami sends them a whole demo pack free, she said.

Ms. Gillette-Ferguson said the game is based on monster cards, trap cards and spell cards with the idea to duel your opponent and try to get his or her life points down to zero.

I got into Yu-Gi-Oh because my son was into it, so I became a judge, Ms. Gillette-Ferguson said. We used to travel across the country because he would get invited to the national tournament.

She said she was excited to be able to demonstrate the game at an event in the area.

It gets the kids off of their video games and interacting with peers, she said. It allows the community to come together and even allows parents a new venue to interact with their children.

SUNY Potsdam students Kyle A. Hager, a senior, Cameron M. Dumas, a freshman, Julie V. Mitchell, a sophomore, and Jon C. Somer, a senior, were playing an open tournament of Yu-Gi-Oh at the library Saturday.

Were all members of the SUNY Potsdam Gaming Club and we meet every Wednesday, Mr. Hager said.

Mr. Hager said another member of the club, Gregory T. Cross, a senior at Potsdam, told them about International Games Day being celebrated in Morley.

Mr. Cross is in the same Yu-Gi-Oh judge program as Ms. Gillette-Ferguson and was at the library to help teach the game to newbies.

Its really great to change the location and not always play in the same place, he said.

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